The Council of Governors has demanded that the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome issues a public apology to Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza over her arrest in Imenti on Wednesday.
In a statement signed by the Council's vice chair and Wajir governor, Ahmed Abdullahi, the governors lamented over the humiliation that Mwangaza underwent during the arrest.
The governors are also demanding that Koome takes action against the officers who went to interrupt the governor's distribution of a cow to a needy family.
It was explained that the demands were based on the fact that the development agenda in the county was disrupted by the arrest and standoff that lasted for over two hours.
"We urge the police to refrain from being used to settle political scores and rely on facts and objectivity in the execution of their duties.
"The Council continues to embrace the spirit of cooperation and coordination and we will engage the Ministry of Interior on better collaborative measures to avoid such unfortunate eventualities in the future," read the statement in part.
The governors also proposed for governors to be handled with dignity during such events with proposals of police summons over arrests.
The Council opined that the two levels of government could coordinate police summons through existing structures.
"The case of mistaken identity therefore presented by the Police is laughable. The action is a flagrant disregard for the Governor's rights as enshrined in Article 29 of the Constitution. We strongly condemn such bullying and intimidation and reiterate that the Governor's office must be respected. The actions of the police demonstrate a disturbing pattern of attacking and intimidating Governors," read the statement in part.
Mwangaza was arrested while delivering a cow to a family in Imenti.
In the event that was live-streamed on the governor's social media accounts, police claimed that the event was illegal following the ban on Okolea meetings by Interior CS Kithure Kindiki.
Notably, the National Police Service (NPS) issued a statement after the incident maintaining that Mwangaza was not under arrest.
However, in a separate video, one of the officers was captured apologising to the governor claiming mistaken identity.
"Madam Governor, it was not intended. It was a case of mistaken identity. We ask for your forgiveness," one of the officers stated.
